In the Teen Titans universe everyone has their own superhero movie apart from Robin, something which he can’t abide. He’s furious that Alfred, and even the Batmobile are screeching into the oversaturated market before he’s even had the chance to prove his mettle. So along with his ragtag team of Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire he sets into motion a plan to get into the movie business and find a suitable arch nemesis.
With the current seemingly unstoppable barrage of superhero films on offer in cinemas and on demand, this scathing satire offers a hilarious and affectionate mocking of the industry by poking fun at its most beloved characters. It’s also a fun and lively kids film with animation that resembles Hanna-Barbera crossed with Japanese anime for the most part, and there’s even some lovable felt creations too. It features songs akin to the brilliance of The Lego Movie with ‘Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life’ a particular highlight. The 80s inspired music video for the song is all cassette tapes, cosmic rainbows, saxophone solo, dolphin drum machine player and a tiger (voiced by Michael Bolton) complete with keytar.
It’s the kind of meta movie that knows its film and comic book history inside out and plays with it in a joyfully inventive way. Nicolas Cage finally gets to play Superman and does a fantastic job, Zack Snyder’s ultra-serious Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice gets a much-needed reworking and there’s even a Jonah Rex (yes, we do mean the dinosaur) film available according to the beautifully detailed posters and multitude of background jokes. The teen titans even go back in time, to the theme from Back To The Future, making their way through superhero history by foiling their angsty, tragic beginnings or simply sabotaging them – Aquaman does not fare well! When that doesn’t work they cheekily push those characters back into danger.
Wickedly funny in places, the film doesn’t let up for one minute, jumping from one clever joke to the next at a breakneck speed.
